Last night's TV news on Channel 7, Channel 5, LOVETV, PGTV, West Vision (Cayo) and CTV 3. Also with the most recent Open Your Eyes, and other specials

The San Pedro Sun

Finneous the injured crocodile undergoes surgeryAn injured seven foot crocodile remains at an emergency pen under the care of the American Crocodile Education Sanctuary (ACES) in San Pedro Town. The reptile was found and rescued in mid –March, with its mouth intentionally tied shut with tape and wire. Left to starve and highly vulnerable, the reptile also suffered severe wounds to its neck, which required a surgery that was performed over the Easter weekend. The surgery was a success, but the croc’s health status is still of great concern.
Since its rescue, the ACES’ team of crocodile conservationists has been tending to the crocodile, which has been named Finneous. The wounds on his neck are regularly cleaned, while antibiotics are administered into his system to keep any infection at bay. Prior to the surgery, Finnous’ health seemed to have been improving slowly, and according to the team at ACES, there were encouraging signs from the animal, except for the wound on the neck, which was too large to heal on its own. With time running out, they sought the help of a veterinary medical expert.

Christopher Newport University Volunteers visit island schoolsDuring their first alumni trip in April 2017, volunteers of Christopher Newport University (CNU) in Newport News, Virginia, USA, visited Ambergris Caye on a mission to visit the island’s schools. Judy Raiford Pantelides, Adjunct Faculty at CNU, along with Lindsey Pantele, Liz Ciancia and Jessica Gateau, graduates of the Master of Arts in Teaching program at CNU, assisted Holy Cross Anglican School, San Pedro High School and San Pedro Roman Catholic Primary School for several days.
It was the group’s first alumni trip, as they have visited San Pedro in the past as students. Pantelides has been visiting the island for 12 years, while the other volunteers have visited in 2010 and in 2012 as part of Pantelide’s ‘Teaching Across Cultures’ graduate class. The volunteers also applied for a teaching license and worked, alongside island teachers for two weeks sharing their ideas.

Man beaten at Free Zone casinoA 27-year-old Mexican was beaten early yesterday morning as he left a casino in the Free Zone at the hands of a group of thieves who wanted to strip him of money and discovered that his victim did not carry a ticket with him.
B.C., 27, went to the premises of the State Attorney General's Office to file a formal complaint with an agent of the Public Prosecutor's Office of the Common Jurisdiction, since he claimed that malefactors had beheaded him.
The aggrieved explained that he went to a casino in the Free Zone during the afternoon of Thursday and for several hours lost in the bets to finish without a single weight.
When this guy left the betting house and walked towards the Mexican border, he was intercepted by a group of malefactors, who gave him a wild beating until they left him stunned and about to faint.

Corozal cleanupIn celebration of this year's Earth Day the Rotaract Club of Corozal partners off once again with Oceana's wavemakers in a mile long clean up along the highway. Let's protect and keep our planet Earth clean guys!

Andres Campos Sports Field faceliftA major facelift and upliftment currently taking place at the Andres Campos Sports Field is most welcomed. The field has been scraped, graded, rolled and a major portion of it has been filled with soil to level it off, so when it rains, it will no longer hold water.
The sport's field is constantly used for many sporting activities in Corozal such as soccer, softball and other major community events and activities.
With the recent rains, the grass should grow back quickly, so that the field can continue to be enjoyed by our community.

Mountain Pine Ridge Earth Day cleanupHappy EarthDay to all!!! Remember to do something positive for the EARTH. FCD congratulates Blancaneaux, GATA, Hidden Valley, Forest Department, Positive Environmental Group and all others that did the clean up campaign in the Mountain Pine Ridge!!! Kudos to all.

The Reporter

Car jacker gets 7 years jail timeJustice was swift and landed a 22 year-old car jacker behind bars on a seven-year sentence after he pleaded guilty to charges brought against him for the robbery of a Belize City taxi man earlier this week.
San Ignacio resident, Shawn Rodriguez appeared before Senior Magistrate Sharon Frazer on April 20, and was charged with ‘robbery’ and ‘deadly means of harm’. He pleaded guilty to the robbery charge and pleaded for leniency since it was a first time offence.
Rodriguez is expected back in court on June 2, to answer to the charge of ‘deadly means of harm.

Jaguars attack and kill farmerThe badly decomposed body of a man, whom it is believed was attacked and killed by jaguars, was pulled out of a well in Progresso village, Orange Walk town early Friday morning.
The body of 45 year-old Baltazar Lino was pulled from a 5-foot deep well on his farm.
Due to the condition of the body, an onsite post mortem was conducted. The pathologist told family members that Lino died as a result of a jaguar attack. Lino had a large cut wound to his neck.
Jaguars are said to roam the immediate area, and the family says that they found swveral scratch marks around the well where the body was discovered.

The Belize Times

What the Children See, the Children Do
By: Tanya Santos, UWG President.About a month or so ago I was watching the local news on television when an advertisement aired showing a woman making sexually explicit moves. It took me a few more seconds before I realized what was actually being advertised. It was alcohol, specifically Belikin Stout. Then this week again I saw another advertisement, with a sexily clad young lady being enticed to ‘go for a ride’ in a Nissan Frontier.
Both of these commercials are being aired during prime time on local television networks. Thankfully my keenly observant seven-year-old daughter wasn’t around to see this, but since it airs during prime time it is inevitable that she will see at least one of them and ask the tough questions. Now I am forced to ask: Am I the only one offended by the fact that companies such as these continue to perpetuate the sexual exploitation of women?

A Dangerous MF… Part II
By: Norris Hall. Sedi Elrington seems to feel that he has enough political currency to fool the people of his constituency. In an earlier snafu when he again put his foot in his mouth, he asserted that the people of his constituency couldn’t care less about the Belize/Guatemala problem. He failed to grasp that his national responsibility as Foreign Minister goes beyond his more personal concern about retaining his seat in the Legislature by a persistent hoodwinking of his supporters. He seems unable to grasp his national responsibility.
So far removed or indifferent is he from the gravity of the Guatemalan claim, that as he once sat in a press conference with his Guatemalan counterpart, he allowed to slip by, unchallenged, an assertion made by the Guatemalan FM about a non-existent agreement Guatemala claimed it had with Belize for Belize to suspend the building of military installation on its southern cayes or for a Forward Operating Base on the Belize side of the Sarstoon River, which forms a natural border between the two countries.

Thinking Out Loud
By: Kevin Bernard. As we jump back into the grind after an extended Easter break, I thank God that for the most part, as far as bad news goes, it was relatively quiet. Still, there were notable tragedies, including the death of a child on San Pedro and the loss of two brothers here in Orange Walk. I send out condolences to the families and wish them comfort during this difficult time.
By the time many of you read this in the newspaper, the BNTU will have elected a new President to replace outgoing brother Luke Palacio. I wish to state here and now on the record that I reject the attempts by this government to influence and manipulate the results of that election. That blatant foolishness has got to stop, and those involved on the highest levels should be ashamed of themselves.

MY PERSPECTIVE – PRO LIFE?
There is a Roman Catholic Benedictine nun by the name of Sister Joan Chittister who has become quite renowned over the course of her career. She is 80 years of age now, and is a prolific author and public speaker. She has tackled difficult topics such as spirituality, religious life, peace,
and justice for all people, especially women and the poor. She was the prioress of the Benedictine sisters of Erie, Pennsylvania, and she holds a Master’s Degree from the University of Notre Dame and a Doctorate from Penn State University. Currently she is Co-Chair of the Global Peace Initiative of Women, a United Nations-sponsored organization creating a worldwide network of women peacemakers.

Bex Walks Hellish Road to Miss Universe
Miss Belize Universe 2016, Rebecca Rath, won the hearts of Belizeans who banded together to cheer her on during her intense journey to the Miss Universe pageant in Manila in January 2017. Reproach and odium, however, allegedly came from an unlikely source – the Miss Belize Universe country director, Opal Enriquez.
In a five-part blog released piece by piece during the 2017 Easter break weekend, Rebecca’s father, Tony Rath, the acclaimed photographer based in Dangriga made the detailed and insightful revelations of the family’s dalliance with the pageant world. It wasn’t just fun and roses – and they did not expect it to be all smooth sailing but neither were they prepared for the turbulence they would experience.
Rebecca was inexperienced in the pageant world but as her father meticulously outlined, she was born to thrive. “You’re built for a kill shot, not high heels,” Tony told his daughter when Bex, as she is affectionately known, first pitched the idea of competing in the Miss Belize pageant. The sleek “rough and tumble” volleyball enthusiast would soon (in a few short months) turn herself into a powerful beauty queen contender, putting in hours upon hours of practice to walk in high heels, model and rehearse speeches—and the smile? That one came naturally.

Barrow, Faber and the BNTU!
By: Major (Ret’d) Lloyd Jones.
Patrick Faber boldly announced on April 3rd, 2017, that he and the Barrow Administration intends to give, as an honorarium, one million dollars of tax payers money to those teachers who did not heed the noble call of the Belize National Teachers Union (BNTU) to stand up for Belize. The backlash was fast and furious: the BNTU, the NTUCB, the CWU, the BCCI and just about every decent Belizean complained about this glaring use of public funds for overt political ends even as Faber and the UDP raised taxes on the poor.
Many thought that the move by Faber and Dean Barrow was a long term investment to undermine any future industrial action by the BNTU. Many thought the honorarium would cause more teachers to defect the next time around. Remember now, the BNTU has already told Barrow that re-registration must commence in July of this year, as required by law. And we all know that Barrow, Faber and the UDP don’t wish to clean up the voters list, certainly not before the next municipal elections. They hope to take us to the next general elections with that same contaminated voters list if we let them.

Shenanigans at Sales Tax Department – Part I
The Ministry of Finance’s attempt to explain away the allegations made by OIC of PG Elmer Reyes, is a week attempt to deflect any damage Reyes’ letter may have caused. How can the Ministry say that it categorically rejects “any suggestion of manipulation on the part of the GST Senior Management of any Audit carried out by mid-level to lower level GST Auditors,” when Reyes’ letter sites several cases without calling names?
One would think that instead of throwing Reyes under the bus, the FINSEC would have embraced this opportunity to meet with Reyes and review the cases he referred to. After all, the objective of the GST ACT is to protect the tax payer from abuse by the GST Department, and to protect the revenue from unscrupulous tax payers. This means that the law demands just and fair treatment of the tax payer. The Commissioner must act within the confines of the law. Any assessment methodology adapted must be fair and transparent, and must conform to those internationally accepted standards. The Commissioner has an obligation to share methodology and working papers with the tax payer.

Guatemalan Congress Rejects Bid to Change Official Map
The Guatemalan Congress recently considered a proposal for its official map to be changed to include Belize as part of its territory with the annotation that there is a “territorial, insular and maritime differendum pending resolution.” If passed, the map would include a dotted line instead of a straight line indicating the boundary and above the dotted line would be written the words “limit not defined.” However, the proposal was voted down. 84 parliamentarians voted against it while 26 voted in its favour.

Barrow Approves Faber’s MILLION DOLLAR Middle Finger
Word has been received that the Ministry of Finance has given its approval for the disbursement of a MILLION DOLLAR honorarium to teachers who did not join the strike of the Belize National Teachers’ Union (BNTU) last October. The big payout was promised by Education Minister, Hon. Patrick Faber (with the Prime Minister’s consent).
Faber told the media on April 3rd that they hoped to make the payment before the Easter break. However, we have been informed that the Ministry of Finance only just notified of its approval this week. We have learned that the payment could not be disbursed for all non-striking teachers because the responsible government staff was still processing the salary adjustment for teachers and public servants to be reflected in this month’s payroll. Therefore, the honorarium should be paid out next month.

TOMARI’s FAMILY SUES MONKEY BAY
It’s been just over 14 months since the 14-year-old American student, Tomari Jackson, died in Belize from drowning while he was on a week-long study-abroad trip. He was part of a group of 33 US students and their chaperones from North Cobb High School in Kennessaw, Georgia. His family is now suing Belize’s Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, the Cobb County School System, and the trip’s chaperones.
A key piece of the evidence expected to be part of the case is video footage, which, according to US Press reports, captures Jackson’s last moments alive. He was wearing a portable camera, and his family believes that it is proof that his death was preventable.

Brothers Die in 40Ft Well
Two brothers died over the Easter weekend after suffocating. They were trying to clean out a well, but the toxic gases at the bottom overwhelmed them.
It happened on Holy Friday, April 14, at the Coyoc family farm in the Goat Hill area of Orange Walk, sometime around 11:30 a.m. Twenty-six year-old Jeovani “Jovi” Coyoc, and his older brother, 41 year-old Isidro “John” Coyoc were working on the 40-foot well to clean it. Jeovani was at the bottom, and he suddenly started to choke on toxic fumes. Seeing his brother’s distress, Isidro Coyoc reportedly went looking for help nearby, but he couldn’t find any.

If Dah Noh Soh
Woman beater…
Patrick Faber, that little boy in a man’s body who wants to be the next Prime Minister of Belize, is a man who seems to enjoy beating up women. That really pisses me off. I was reading through some of the documents from his divorce just now and it’s a sad, sad thing what he put that woman through. Imagine that she had to basically run from this drunken, abusive fool to escape, leave the country even. He’s a sick little guy. And it’s a pattern. I remember him beating up another woman who ended up reporting him to the Police, and then withdrawing the report because, see, he was her boss at the Ministry of Education. I can’t imagine where this aggression against women comes from, but I know studies suggest that very often violence against women masks homosexual tendencies, or maybe even over-compensation for some deficiency in some other area. Just saying. And he wants to lead this country. He thinks he has what it takes, this little pissant who loves punching woman who are much smaller than him in the face. Incredible. I’m wrestling with my conscience here on whether I should just release the official Court document…we’ll see what happens.

Questions to Ministers
Would the Member for Queen Square and Minister of Finance please say now exactly how much money was paid to Mark Espat or his company for the restructuring of BarrowBond 3.0? Could he further say if indeed any monies have been paid to Attorney-General Michael Peyrefitte for his role in the restructuring as has been reported?
Would the Member for Queen Square and Prime Minister please say if there has been any accounting for the monies collected abroad by his wife, the Special Envoy for Women and Children, on behalf of the children of Belize? Could he further provide a detailed list of how that money has been spent in Belize?
Would the Member for Corozal Bay and Minister of Health please say what is the status of the Paediatric Ward at the KHMH, which was opened just before elections in 2015? Could he confirm or deny reports that the ward is not open to children over 5 years of age and parents staying with their children must sleep on the floor?

No Fairytale Ending for Princess…
Belize City Police are still on the lookout for a man, said to be Hispanic, for the brutal murder of Indira Thompson, better known as Princess, just before dawn on good Friday. Thompson, 35, was stabbed to death in a small shack built on the grounds of the old Bellevue Hotel. While Police have not revealed why they have come to that conclusion, they say that the man may have tried to force himself on Princess, and when she fought off his advances, she was killed.
According to reports, at around 4:00am that morning Princess arrived at the home she sometimes shared with a friend, Carl Morter. Morter claimed she was in the presence of another man, and he left them there when he went out to buy something. He further claims that when he arrived back, he found Princess dead on a mattress covered in blood, and the unknown Hispanic man hurriedly leaving. When media spoke to Morter, he displayed a jagged cut on his neck which he says was inflicted by Princess’ killer.

FABER Fails Again! – Elena Victorious Despite UDP Tampering “Never in the almost 50 years of the BNTU have we seen this type of interference…” – Outgoing BNTU President Luke Palacio Voting finished at 4:08 this afternoon, and at 6:25pm today, the announcement was made that Elena Smith, educator, Senator and firebrand union member, had been elected new President of the Belize National Teachers Union, having garnered a majority of the 630 votes cast. It is an especially significant victory for Smith since she had drawn the wrath of the UDP government for her very vocal role in the BNTU strike of October, 2016. To show their displeasure, and likely fear, the UDP in the days leading up to the election did everything in its considerable power to sway the results of the election away from Smith and towards their chosen horse in the race, Mario Mesh from the Corozal Branch.

WPC Becomes Fifth Cop Interdicted in One MonthA woman police officer was placed on interdiction earlier this week. She joins another four officers who were recently interdicted and charged internally with “prejudice to good order.”
PC #1241 Ann Marie Anthony was caught on surveillance footage stealing 4 fifty dollar bills during a raid at the “Little Red Shop” in Santa Elena, Cayo on Good Friday. The storeowner filed her report on Tuesday, April 18 and told Police that she was at her establishment on the said date when at around 9:27a.m., some Police officers arrived to conduct a search for liquor (according to the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Act, Chapter 150 of the laws of Belize, “all licensed premises in which liquor is sold under a publican’s general license shall be closed (a) on Christmas Day and Good Friday”). During that search the cops seized assorted liquor but it was only after they had departed that she realized that $200 was missing from her cash box. When she reviewed the footage from her surveillance cameras, she noted that it was the WPC who had stealthily removed the money while the raid was being conducted.

Minor Drowns…Another Narrowly Escapes DeathWith much focus on water activities during the hot Easter weekend, too frequently the holiday is marred by unfortunate and tragic drowning incidents.
The past weekend was no exception, as one young child unfortunately lost his life and another is hospitalized at the KHMH while her family hopes that she will pull through.
The deceased is 6 year-old Zaem Torres, a resident of San Pedro Town who fell into a vat on Holy Thursday night, April 13. At around 11 p.m., Police visited the Bay Side area of San Pedro town where they saw several persons trying to resuscitate the baby. He was immediately rushed to the Otto Rodriguez Polyclinic, but he was pronounced dead on arrival by the doctors on duty.

Belizean Waters…Guatemalan Owned!Toledo’s Wil Maheia who went on yet another trip to the Sarstoon on Tuesday has reported that Guatemalan fisherfolk were observed fishing with illegal gillnets in numbers. This, he said, was occurring within a mile from Belize’s Sarstoon Forward Operating Base. He observed 12 Guatemalan vessels in Belizean waters. He questioned for the umpteenth time, “what is the use of the Base if it is not going to stop all the illegal incursions into Belize?” Maheia notes that for a while, the Belize Coast Guard and the Belize Defense Force seemed to be doing their jobs and the incursions appeared to have come to a halt but he surmises that this might have been because of their constant trips to the area but “the minute we dropped our guard it’s like business as usual.”

Judgment DayOnce upon a time, I respected Dean Oliver Barrow. Don’t hate me. I really did. Now I can’t believe I was so stupid. DOB is a power-hungry, ruthless, selfish, uncaring man who really does not give a damn about the people of Belize. To him, we are worth nothing more than a vote on election day. The rest is superfluous. He really has brought this country to its knees economically and socially just to cement his legacy and political victory for the UDP. I wonder if he realizes, when he is staring at his ceiling in the dead of night, what he has done to the people and country he swore to serve.
I have listened to this man swear to his own integrity as if his word is binding law. It makes me nauseous. He is as corrupt as the most corrupt Minister in his Cabinet. His family has creamed off the public trough and continues to do so, simply because he has decided that they are the ‘bestest’ and ‘brilliantest,’ and nobody should dare to question him. He has made of nepotism a fine art, and condones the most blatant corruption and abuse of the public trust. He will leave office fabulously wealthy, with every member of his family richer for his time there. But he will leave the country broken and divided.

Bigger than the GarlandAs it always is, the debate over the results of the annual Holy Saturday Cross Country race has been fast and furious. As it always does, Facebook has become an instant breeding ground for experts – in this case cycling and sporting psychologists, analysts, trainers and coaches. None of the passionate rhetoric will change the fact that a Guatemalan cyclist, Alejandro Padilla, the defending cross-country champ, will be taking the garland to Guatemala once again. And not one of the Facebook arguments which generally deteriorate into petty and personal insults will change the fact that the top three spots were taken by foreigners – the second spot by an American, 48 years old, and the third by another Guatemalan, Alder Torres.
We extend congratulations to all the athletes who participated in the gruelling race – ALL of them regardless of nationality. Like all Belizeans, we share the disappointment that it was not one of our own who crossed that finish line first. And like most Belizeans, we share a certain discontentment in the knowledge that we have been upstaged by a country which refuses to accept our territorial integrity and continues to annex territory which is ours. But we hold absolutely no malice against the Guatemalan who won, or indeed any of the foreigners who bested our Belizeans.

BDF Challenge Bandits in PLB Football Playoffs – Verdes Take on Police United…The Belize Defence Force and Verdes FC clinched their Premier League of Belize football playoff berths in the games of Week 14 over the weekend. Verdes FC was a shoo-in for the No.3 berth getting an easy 3-0 win by FC Belize’s forfeit at the Norman Broaster Stadium on Sunday.
The BDF won the No.4 berth by a 2-1 win over FC Belize in a midweek match at the MCC Garden on Wednesday night, where Ernest Wiltshire scored first for FC Belize, but goals by Shane Flores and Brian Martinez gave the BDF the 2-1 win.
At the MCC Garden on Sunday, the BDF drew 2-2 with Police United; with Colombian import Anderson Cordoba and Trevor “Burger” Lennan scoring for the cops, while Shane “Chucky” Flores and Jeremy Gentle equalized for the soldiers.

Guatemala Takes the Garland…AgainNo Belizean brought home the garland this year, as last year’s champ – Guatemalan cyclist Alejandro Padilla Miranda returned as Holy Saturday Cross Country Cycling Champion in the 89th edition of the Cycling Federation of Belize’s annual classic race from Belize City to San Ignacio and back on the George Price Highway.
Padilla clocked 5:53:05 over the 140-mile race, which was 13 minutes slower than 19-year-old Ryan Bauman’s 2008 record time of 5:40:12. The visitors also cleaned up most of the cash prizes on the road; Padilla and American Patrick Raines had sat in the back of the peloton conserving their energy until the final 19 miles, but Padilla won another $625 in prizes from mile 8 to mile 6.
Raines won 4 station prizes of $1,000 each at Mile 13, Leslie’s Imports, at Jawmeighan’s grave and at the BWS offices, as well as 8 other prizes between Vernon Street and Famers market, for a total of $5,050 in prizes.

Breaking Belize News

La Union border crossing under watchThe popular Belize-Mexico crossing spot in Northern Belize is seeing an increase in traffic.
Many Belizeans cross over in canoes to shop for cheap grocery items.
Customs and Immigration personnel have installed a sign that says only residents from neighboring villages will be allowed to shop there.

Coast Guard accuses Admiral Borland of abuseAccording to reports, a Coast Guard has filed an official police report against his superior.
Admiral John Borland is being accused of threatening the serviceman.
Reports are that the coast guard officer is requesting court action into the matter.

Police find decomposed body in Progresso Village, CorozalOn Thursday, April 20 about 5:00 p.m., police visited an area about 31/2 miles southwest of Progresso Village, Corozal District where they saw the body of Baltazar Santos Lino, 44, a labourer of Progresso Village in an advance state of decomposition floating face down inside a well.

Motorcycle stolen from owner’s yard in Belize CityAccording to police reports, 35-year-old Robert Gladden of Belize City reported that yesterday between 8 and 9:30 a.m., his black 2016 Lifan Brand motorcycle valued at $2,900.00 was stolen from his yard.

Homemade 16 gauge found by police in Belize CityCops on South Side Belize City have taken another gun off the streets and out of the hands of criminal elements. This time, it was a homemade 16 gauge firearm.
According to police reports, at around midday yesterday cops conducted a search in an abandoned lot on Riverside Street.

Vehicle burns in Belmopan According to police reports, just before midday on Thursday, cops visited the corner of Queen Elizabeth Boulevard and Mandarin Street in the Cohune Walk area of Belmopan City where they saw a black 2007
Honda Pilot SUV vehicle engulfed in flames.

Old BelizeModern visitors can get a glimpse of colonial era life by visiting Old Belize, a combination museum and adventure park located on the outskirts of Belize City. Originally not much more than a beachfront bar and a place to buy souvenirs, Old Belize is now one of the top visitor destinations in the country and includes a giant water slide, museum, exhibitions on all the different cultures that make up Belize’s melting pot society, gift shops, a floating trampoline, restaurants, cafes, and even an enormous rope swing that arcs out over the tranquil azure waters of Cucumber (Kukumba) Beach.
Old Belize is located five miles outside the city limits of Belize City on the George Price Highway (still widely known as the Western Highway).
Old Belize is open all year round except for Mondays and Good Friday (three days before Easter Sunday). The beach is open from Tuesday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM and on Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
You can come to Old Belize to learn more about the history and peoples of Belize or simply treat it as an adventure park with lots of rides, games, and delicious food. Despite being created specifically for foreign tourists, Old Belize is now equally popular with local Belizeans. Guided tours are a great way to experience all the best parts of Old Belize.

International Sources

TT President says region should dump Privy CouncilTrinidad and Tobago President, Anthony Carmona, has expressed frustration that his country and other CARICOM states have not replaced the Privy Council with the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as their final authority in legal matters.
Though 12 of the 15 CARICOM territories have signed the agreement establishing the CCJ, which was launched in 2005 as the final arbiter in legal disputes among and within regional members, only Barbados, Guyana, Dominica and Belize have accepted this court as the end decision-maker.
Carmona, who served as a High Court Judge before being appointed as President in 2013, expressed his frustration during a presentation on Thursday to University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, undergraduate organisation, ‘Students Today Alumni Tomorrow’.

Status of forests is ‘dire’ as world marks Earth DayThey cover a third of the world’s land mass, help to regulate the atmosphere, and offer shelter, sustenance and survival to millions of people, plants and animals.
But despite some progress, the planet’s woodlands continue to disappear on a dramatic scale.
Since 1990 the world has lost the equivalent of 1,000 football fields of forests every hour, according to World Bank development indicators from last year. That’s 1.3 million square kilometres of forest, an area larger than South Africa, according to the international financial institution.
Deforestation and forest degradation have caused a surge of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, according to conservationists.
Belize and Bolivia have seen their carbon emissions skyrocket in recent years as a result of increased deforestation, the World Bank reported.

Videos

Belize 2017. 5 year Anniversary, 8min. The 2nd and 3rd songs in this video by Brandon Herring are original songs written and performed by him. I have never heard sweeter melodies. He made some songs about our little island. How special!

Family Cave Tubing Adventure in Belize, 4min. During our Carnival Cruise in the Caribbean we booked an excursion that took us cave tubing in Belize. The trip was a wonderful experience for all ages. Our youngest was 9-years-old and enjoyed it.